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Silhouette Cameo Review: Part Two

I have been seriously using my Silhouette Cameo for over a month now, putting it through every possible test. Here’s a first-hand report on my personal experiences with my Silhouette Cameo…

Off to a rought start-Blade #1

When I first got my Silhouette Cameo, back in October, it arrived with a defective blade. Not one cut came out clean; every cut came out rough and unusable.

I tried every possible combination of settings, to no avail.I watched the user’s video that came with the Silhoutte and every YouTube review and tutorial I could find. So, having done everything possible, I contacted the company and they sent me a new blade. Problem solved? Nope!

Blade #2

With the new blade installed, I tried a couple of simple, large cuts–nothing intricate like snowflakes or text–and the Silhouette Cameo finally delivered! For the next few days, I experimented with cutting out simple shapes for cards that I was working on. I was thrilled at this new success. In my excitement, I wrote and posted a glowing review, telling my readers how happy I was with this marvellous new machine. End of story? Nope!

The morning after I wrote the review, I needed to cut out some bird shapes, again for some cards that I was making. And, once again, the Silhouette couldn’t deliver. I contacted the company, again, and we had a long discussion about paper weight, settings, cutting speed, and so on. Back I went to my studio to test out the instructions given to me by the Silhouette help desk representative. Again, no luck.

Blade #3

So, I contacted the company, again, and they sent me a third blade. This one works, as long as I use a good solid cardstock, such as K&Company’s Special Paper or Designer Paper. The blade must be set at six and the speed at three. I have been successful at cutting out text and other intricate shapes. However, this is only possible with a good quality card stock–paper still rips.

Cutting mats–groan!

When I first used my cutting mat, it was so sticky that images were extremely difficult to lift off without tearing. After just a few uses, the cutting mat is so lacking in stickiness that the paper slides–and that means another sheet of designer paper ruined.

So, now I have to tape each and every sheet of paper onto the cutting mat and watch it closely as it moves through the cutting process.

My final analysis

Well, despite all the problems I have had getting off the ground with my Silhouette Cameo, I do love it. It doesn’t cut every weight of paper, but it does cut the heavier card stocks quite well.

I also love the online shopping feature available through the Silhouette Studio software. It is very convenient and there are lots of half-price sales and weekly freebies. As I browse through Silhouette collection, I always find shapes and images that inspire new ideas for scrapbooking, card-making and other papercrafting projects.

I would love to hear other reviews on the Silhouette Cameo. It would be great, too, if anyone has any solutions to some of the issues, such as cutting images out of paper (not cardstock) and how to deal with problem of the unsticky cutting mats.

P.S. Why can’t everthing just be as simple to use as the Cuttlebug? 🙂

Thanks, so much, for stopping by. I hope you find this article helpful. I would really appreciate your feedback!

15 thoughts on “Silhouette Cameo Review: Part Two”

Just got my Silhouette Cameo. I am cutting Stampin’ It card stock. It seems like it is cutting okay. However, it does not complete the cutting job. And, it just stops. Is it thinking?? How do I resume the printing that it chose to stop itself?

I have the cameo. I did a fair amount of work researching things to begin with. It has done the job well for me. although I am not a “power user” so I do have not put too much pressure on it yet. I do like the fact that its connected to my computer and lets me design my own “stuff”.

Hi,
I was reading your post about the cameo and the cutting mat, in the past I have used the cutting robo and I sprayed the matt with spray mount -Repositionable Adhesive and that worked! I have just got a cameo so fingers crossed it’ll be as good as the robo!

Hi,
Yes, you’re right about the repositionable adhesive, it does work very well.
I hope you love your Cameo as much as I love mine. If you have any problems, let me know and I will do whatever I can to help you.
Thanks for visiting and good luck with your new Cameo!!!
Gloria 🙂

Hi!!!
All this information is so helpful, thank you very much for sharing.
I just ordered my cameo Today April 25 and was wondering, Did your order them vía internet? and if you did, How long did it take them to get to your house?
Thank you so much for takin the time to answer this post.
Maggie

I ordered my Cameo via the Internet from an on-line store called Cut@Home, which is located in mid-western U.S.A. I live in Ottawa, Canada, which is a couple of thousand miles away. It took a few weeks to arrive, but it did arrive in excellent condition and I was very satisfied with the service that Cut@Home provided.

The last I heard, the Silhouette is not yet available from Canadian retailers—-Michaels here in Ottawa had never even heard of it when I was looking for a replace blade a couple of weeks ago! So, if you are in the U.S. you are in luck. If you are in Canada, you will have to wait a few weeks for delivery. But, it is SO worth the wait!!

Gloria.. I was in the US for 2 weeks with my brother in Colorado and I orderder it the second day i was there. It was delivered in 3 days…. WOW… I was really surprised. I live in Mexico city and I took it with me in the plane… it was funny…. I had it in a bag to carry with me but the airline personnel told me i better put it in my luggage. I had with me bubble wrap just in case so I wrapped it really well and put it in my suitcase…. it got here (mexico) in perfect condition and i am tottaly in loooove with it!!!! Of course I will have to wait until i go back to the states to buy more things, i really want to work with vinyl.
Anyways… just wanted to share with you….
Take care and recive a big “abrazo” (hug) all the way from Mexico.
Maggie

Hi, Maggie,
Wow! Three days–that’s awesome. I had to laugh when I pictured you with your Silhouette all wrapped up in bubble wrap!! So glad that it arrived home with you in perfect condition. Let me know what you create. I would love to feature one of your projects, big or small, on my blog. We could even include a photo of you, if you like. Are you planning to make stencils with the vinyl?

Thank you so much for sharing your latest news with me. It’s really great to hear from you. I hope you had a wonderful visit with your brother. I have never been to Colorado or Mexico, but I have heard they are both beautiful!!

Until next time, Maggie, take care and have tons of fun with your Silhouette!!!

Thank you for your “abrazo” and I am sending you a big “embrasse” — that’s a hug, in French. 🙂

It’s definitely worth your while to call the support number. The company sent me a free blade, which was also defective. I called them back and they sent me a second free blade, which seems great, so far! They also sent me a new cutting mat because the one that came with my Cameo was too sticky and was tearing up my paper.

Hi, Adrian,
From what I have been reading, the Silhouette Cameo has had lots of problems with defective blades. One little tip, which you may already know, is to clean out the blade housing regularly. Little bits of paper get stuck in there and then the blade can’t make a clean cut. Just run a needle or straight pin around the blade and scoop out any debris.
Your cards are really beautiful and I wish you lots of luck with your business. Let me know how it goes. Gloria 🙂

I am relieved to hear that you have had the same problems with the blade. I was so excited to get my Cameo, it finally meant that I could afford to make my papercut cards at a rate that was saleable.

I played with it, did some great stuff, finally got up the nerve to design on the amazing software (I really put in the hours learning that) and then wrote my new business site. First order came in, gleefully I set the cameo to work and it just would not cut anything properly – this must be 20-30 cut projects in. So I have had to tell my very first customer that I cannot fulfill their order until my new blade arrives from the States (I live in Canada)..

Love the cameo and what it can do, but v v disappointed with the blade problem.